EHR Incentive Payment Program

Medicare began disbursing a fixed
dollar amount incentive payment to “meaningful users” of health
information technology in 2011—these incentive payments will continue
(but at declining amounts) through 2016. Like the PQRS and eRx Incentive
Program, non-adopters will eventually be hit with ongoing payment
penalties. See the table below for the schedule of EHR incentive
payments and penalties under the Medicare Program—a different incentive
payment schedule and applies to Medicaid.

PQRS and eRx Incentive Program

Medicare’s PQRS and eRx Incentive Program have been established for several years, and incentive payments already are beginning to decline. See the table below for the schedule of incentive payments and penalties for these two programs.

PQRS

eRx

Year

Successful

Not Successful

Successful

Not Successful

2009

+2.0%

--

+2.0%

--

2010

+2.0%

--

+2.0%

--

2011

+1.0%*

--

+1.0%

--

2012

+0.5%*

--

+1.0%

-1.0%**

2013

+0.5%*

--

+0.5%

-1.5%

2014

+0.5%*

--

--

-2.0%

2015

--

-1.5%

--

-2.0%

2016 (& subsequent years)

--

-2.0%

--

-2.0%

* Does not include the possibility of earning an additional +0.5% PQRS incentive payment for participating in a maintenance of certification program and successfully completing a qualified maintenance of certification program practice assessment.

**NOTE: 2013 was the final program year for participating and reporting in the eRx Incentive Program.Electronic prescribing via certified EHR technology is still a requirement for EPs in order to achieve meaningful use under the Medicare EHR Incentive Programs.

Download Free E-prescribing Software: This may be a good option for practices that do not wish to invest a lot of money in a standalone eRx system but need 1) a short term solution that avoids the 2012 eRx payment penalty, and 2) time to implement an EHR system that includes an eRx component.